Berezin posing with the CLA.
STUTTGART/HAMBURG: Russian gamer Alexei "Solo" Berezin was rewarded with a Mercedes-Benz of his choice for winning Dota 2.
He is the captain of Team Virtus.pro which won the online multi-player game in the ESL One Hamburg grand finals. The five-member team walked away with US$1mil (RM4.2mil) in prize money and 750 Pro Circuit points, elevating them to the top of the Pro Circuit leaderboards. They beat Team Secret 2-0.
For leading his team to victory, Berezin was rewarded by fans and judges with the Mercedes-Benz MVP (Most Valuable Player) award, which automatically grants him the Mercedes car worth 50,000 euros (RM247,000). The awards event was attended by 10,000 spectators.
Team Virtus.Pro emerged victorius.
"It is simply incredible. Prize money is now an integral component in eSports, but to win a Mercedes-Benz? I would not even have dared to dream of it a week ago. I am totally happy", says 27-year-old Berezin about the results of the vote in which thousands of fans took part. The Mercedes-Benz ststaement did not say what model Berezin chose.
The Mercedes-Benz MVP is one of the largest non-cash prizes in the history of eSports and was one of the highlights of the tournament. Besides the official shuttle service for players and officials, Mercedes-Benz provided each team an individually branded team car in the run-up to the tournament.
ESL, previously known as Electronic Sports League, is an eSports company which organises contests worldwide. ESL is the world's largest eSports company, and the oldest professional eSports organisation that is still operational.
